Just checked out Courtyard this afternoon after one night stay with 35K certificate, I got pre-upgraded to pool view from entry room. The room is good and very clean with ok bed( a little soft ) . You can walk to beach in less than 10 minutes while I recommend the free hotel shuttle as the road is not pedestrian friendly.

The service excellent too and every one is warm and sincere. My welcome gift is two bottle water and two small coconut cookies as well as hand writing letter from hotel GM, which is a nice touch.

The real highlight of this hotel is food and beverage IMO. The hotel restaurant Allegra Bistro is great and I had both dinner & breakfast there. Last night dinner main course Grouper filet ($20) is superb with refreshing fruits smoothies ($7.5), I can say the fish is one of the best restaurants fish dish to me, very fresh and tasty. Today’s breakfast is also great, I opted the full buffet upgrade with $10 from free elite continental. The omelet is very delicious, the smoked fish is a little salty, only cut fruits are melon and pineapple, but they are ripe and fresh, better than those in most US continental and even many 5 star Bangkok hotels.

So my check out bill total is $41 = 20 + 7.5 + 10 + 3.5 resort fee. I love how little the resort fee and no additional tax/fee on F&B, so for short stay, you won’t go wrong with Aruba Courtyard especially with 35K certificate.

I’m writing this at Ritz Carlton club lounge now, I used 328K points to stay 5N here and during CI I paid $350 per night for the club access with club floor room. The lough service is outstanding so far and that’s main reason I opted for club access. 3 days before I got ocean view upgrade and yesterday got ocean front. Now I need to check my room and back in one hour for the Hors d'oeuvres.